Floor in shed

[wombat12]

Have a 16 x 18 shed in yard and am wanting to be able to use it to work on lawn tractors and just tinker. Was considering pouring concrete; but the grond gets really damp and living here in Pa I'm afraid the frost would destroy the slab in no time. Is there a way to treat wood inexpensively that would hold up to dampness? Or any other suggestions ? Thanks

[beenthere]

I would buy treated wood, as one cannot effecively treat wood to the same protection.
Also, I would make the sub-grade dry for wood, just as for concrete.
I'd dig out, put in drain tile, washed gravel, plastic, wood stringers or joists, and then the wood floor (treated 3/4" plywood should work). That will make a good, dry floor.

[Argee]

I put Afton stone (local term?) or Crushed lime stone in my shed. It has some binders worked in so it packs pretty hard. Use the same stuff in my drive.

[AndyF]

If you do a good pour, for this size building you shouldn't have problems with heaving. Do a good job prepping the ground, lay some plastic as a vapor barrier and then pour.

[Henry]

If you're thinking about a wood floor, make sure you'e got good drainage and air flow under the floor.... you'll be fine. I've got a wood floor shed pretty close to your size that's 20 years old. The wood is creosote treaded oak and it's a strong as ever. These days, I'd buy the standard pressure treaded stuff for flooring.....

P.S. I'm from central PA too!

[tdenny]

Wombat,

I would highly recommend pouring the concrete. Would, even treated, will eventually rot with moisture. you should easily be able to pour a slab and making sure to provide breaks not have too much problem with the frost. Additionally the treated wood will also be pretty expensive. To pour a slab for your shed with a 4 inch depth would only be approximately 3 yards (actually a little less) of concrete. Out here that would be less than $200.00 and it should last forever. It is easy to do as well.

I have read some articles on treating your own wood but they all were regarding fence posts. In all cases they made it clear that the stuff you can buy treated is far superior.